Category Archives: POLITICS OF BATMAN COMICS

Political thrillers in Gotham City

Detective Comics #801 Political thrillers are one of my favorite genres. I crave witty, cunning characters and intricate plots that combine micro and macro scales while turning the political process into thrilling suspense and clever maneuvers, both because it’s a … Continue reading

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On Santa Prisca

I’ve long been obsessed with the DCU’s fictitious geography and the way it condenses, combines, and caricatures cultural stereotypes – just like Gotham does for New York and other urban centers of the USA (over time, the city has become … Continue reading

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On Batman’s sexuality

          The announcement, last month, that Robin (or at least one of several Robins, Tim Drake) is bisexual predictably revived old discussions about the Dynamic Duo’s sexuality, so I figured I’d put together a few loose thoughts to add … Continue reading

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Gotham City’s sex workers – part 2

If you read last week’s post (or just this post’s title, really), you know I’ve been looking at some of the many, many depictions of sex workers in Batman comics. This week, let’s focus on the sinuous paths of two … Continue reading

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Gotham City’s sex workers – part 1

Detective Comics #464 While City on a Hill has been doing its damned finest to emulate The Wire (albeit in Boston), in recent years the show that came the closest to recapturing that kind of TV magic was The Deuce, … Continue reading

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Batman comics and gun control

The Batman Adventures #28 While gun control has certainly been a running theme in Batman comics throughout the ages, their relationship with this issue is not as straightforward as some seem to think. I don’t mean Batman’s relationship with gun … Continue reading

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Batman comics on drugs – part 2

If you read the last post, you know I’ve been looking at Batman comics about drugs. Today I want to briefly discuss two stories from the early 1990s that approached this topic in extreme ways. In his many adventures, the … Continue reading

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Batman comics on drugs – part 1

Drugs have traditionally played a substantial role in Batman comics (hell, in the whole medium). The Dark Knight has put away his share of drug dealers – from run-of-the-mill villains (your prototypical crime fiction trope) to the kind of outlandish … Continue reading

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Anatomy of Batman #372 and Detective Comics #539

Back when I discussed Doug Moench’s 1980s Batman run, I singled out as its most striking features Moench’s literary emphasis on symbolism, characterization, politics, and intertextuality. This week, I’ll zoom in on one story in particular which powerfully combines all … Continue reading

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Anatomy of Batman #285

When it comes to twisted-yet-amusing Christmas tales, forget Gremlins and Rare Exports or even Krampus. I cannot think of many examples that are as fascinating as ‘The Mystery of Christmas Lost!’ (Batman #285, cover-dated March 1977, but, according to Mike’s … Continue reading

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